posted 01-18-2017 12:27 AM               

In a "sources sought" procurement filing Jan. 17, NASA said it considering plans to acquire from Boeing two Soyuz seats on missions to the ISS in the fall of 2017 and the spring of 2018, and options for three additional Soyuz seats in 2019. Boeing, the filing stated, had obtained the rights to the seats from Soyuz manufacturer RSC Energia.

The two near-term seats take advantage of seats the Russians are vacating as a cost-saving measure. Roscosmos, the Russian state space corporation, announced in September it was reducing its crew on the ISS from three to two, starting in March and until the launch of a new laboratory module, expected some time in 2018.

...the near-term seats will allow NASA to add an additional crewmember to the U.S. segment of the station, which the agency was already planning to do once commercial crew vehicles under development by Boeing and SpaceX enter service. "Adding an extra U.S. crewmember in 2017 and 2018 will really help with the utilization on board and getting more hours for science," Elbon said.

What's attracted more attention among industry observers is the option for the three additional seats on two Soyuz flights in the spring of 2019. NASA's current contract with Roscosmos for regular crew transportation services to and from the ISS runs through 2018, at which time the agency expects either or both commercial crew companies to take over.

Both Boeing and SpaceX, though, have experienced delays with their vehicles that pushed back test flights until as late as mid-2018. That's raised questions about whether their vehicles would be ready in time to start providing flights in 2019 should they experience additional issues.

posted 02-27-2017 11:00 PM               

Additional Crew Flights Boost Space Station Science and Research

A new agreement to purchase flights from Boeing to the International Space Station on a Soyuz spacecraft will allow NASA to maximize time dedicated to scientific research by increasing crew size on the U.S. segment from three to four. The additional flights will take place in 2017 and 2018. The agreement includes an option to be exercised by fall 2017 for additional seats in 2019. The 2019 seats could be used to smooth transition to U.S. commercial transportation services.

Each time a cargo resupply spacecraft launches from Earth bound for the International Space Station, it carries with it dozens of experiments to complement more than 250 research investigations underway in the only U.S. National Lab in microgravity. The investigations hold promise for solutions to biomedical problems on Earth and in space, and they take priority in the packed daily schedule for astronauts aboard the space station. An additional U.S. crew member provides an approximately 50 percent increase in crew time available for research. This additional time will allow for experiments that currently could not even be attempted.

The agreement is a contract action that modifies the space station's Vehicle Sustaining Engineering Contract, originally awarded in January 1995, and most recently extended in 2015. The modification provides crew transportation services for two U.S. crew members to and from the International Space Station (ISS) on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft – one each in the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018. The modification total value including the option is $373.5 million.

NASA's Commercial crew transportation providers Boeing and SpaceX have made significant progress toward returning crew launches to the U.S., but external review groups have recommended an option to protect for delays or problems in certification. Both Boeing and SpaceX remain obligated under their commercial crew contracts to complete development of their commercial vehicles and to perform NASA missions to the station. NASA already has ordered six missions from each company.

Boeing received the Soyuz flight opportunities and seats as part of a separate agreement with Russian company Energia, which manufactures the Soyuz spacecraft and has the legal rights to sell the seats and associated services.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to fly a fourth crew member beginning this year will allow NASA to introduce new or novel human research, commercial and technology experiments. The increased crew presence has the potential to bolster the commercial space market, prepare NASA for human deep space exploration, including to Mars, and deliver more benefits to Earth.

posted 03-14-2017 07:50 AM               

"Joseph Acaba has been appointed as a member of the main crew of the Soyuz MS-06 spaceship due to be launched to the International Space Station on September 13. Shannon Walker has been appointed as a member of backup crew. Most likely, she will be subsequently chosen as a main crew member of the Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft due to fly to the ISS in March 2018," the source said.

A spokesman for the cosmonaut training center told TASS on Monday the two U.S. astronauts are to begin pre-flight training but did not specify which crews they have been appointed to.

posted 02-15-2019 11:54 AM               

NASA is considering contracting with the State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" for these services on a sole source basis for two (2) Soyuz seats and associated services to the International Space Station (ISS) on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft vehicle. This transportation would be for one crewmember in the Fall of 2019 and one crewmember in the Spring of 2020.

NASA has contracts with two U.S. commercial companies for crew transportation to the ISS. The Commercial Crew Contracts were initially signed in September 2014 with the first ISS crew rotations planned for December 2017. Each provider has two test flights planned before the first ISS crew rotation flights; an uncrewed test flight and a short duration, minimum crew test flight. Further, each provider has an additional abort test planned. Past experience has shown the difficulties associated with achieving first flights on time in the final year of development. Typically, problems will be discovered during these test flights. The consequences of no US crew on ISS warrant protection by acquiring additional seats. The absence of U.S. crewmembers at any point would diminish ISS operations to an inoperable state.

posted 05-13-2020 10:21 AM               

NASA Completes Negotiations for Additional Soyuz Seat in Fall

To ensure the agency keeps its commitment for safe operations via a continuous U.S. presence aboard the International Space Station until commercial crew capabilities are routinely available, NASA has completed negotiations with the State Space Corporation Roscosmos to purchase one additional Soyuz seat for a launch this fall.

The agency received no responses from U.S. suppliers to a synopsis issued in the fall of 2019 for crew transportation in 2020. Boeing and SpaceX are in the final stages of development and testing of new human space transportation systems that will launch astronauts from American soil, including NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission scheduled for launch no earlier than May 27.

That includes the seat on the Soyuz spacecraft and various training, pre-launch and post-landing services. In addition, Finch said that NASA will compensate Roscosmos for bumping a Russian cosmonaut off that Soyuz mission by flying an unspecified amount of Russian cargo to the station on NASA commercial cargo spacecraft.